Crinkle paint would look good on valve covers I know that Volvo has there covers painted with it in fact I bought some extra valve covers im going to try it, it's that paint that has a ruff/wrinkle look to it any auto parts store should have it.

LMAO! Yeah, that's a quickie cover up job for the bumperless look for sure! And "Porsche" wheels? More like after market "Riviera Style" beetle wheels. Here's the real deal with porsche wheels. Looks better.

I almost traded my vw pan and motor for a 4x4 S10 blazer chassis, tranny, and diff. The deal feel through though cause the guys father got really sick.

Not much going on in the garage the past couple weeks. It's been 95+ which makes it a pain to get out and do somebody work. After about 15 mins of sanding or shaping I'm soaking wet. I'll get back at it though, soon.

I will be going to my old man's to pick up the motor and stand this week or weekend to start putting the motor together. So I'll have some pics of the build soon. I'm sure I'll have some questions too cause I've never put one together. I'll mainly have questions about torque specs and setting up the rocker arms, but I'm sure I can probably find the answers searching or I could buy a book.

Ok Guys ! I have been reading all the replies on building a V-8 bug,and have not posted anything,but I think its time. I got one thing to say don't do it. Now don't get mad hear me out. Here are some of the reasons I'm saying DON"T. Fist of all you will never be happy with it,even if you think so. You will run into all kinds of problems while your building it and after you get it on the street. Its just one problem after a another. The cost is way more then you think. Even if you do all the work your self. Overheating on the street is a major thing,to deal with. And a V-8 bug is not and will not be a happy cruiser. Now your thinking who the hell is this guy,and what the hell does he know. Well if I was you I would be thinking that also.
So let me put it this away. I am not some young teenage kid looking to tear up the city streets. Yea! I love screwing with the young guys in there stangs,vetts,camaros and etc. On the streets to. But besides loving a fast car, I love a dependable street car,that I do not have to worry about. And I am sure most of you guys feel the same way. Or at least you should. And a V-8 bug is not that. I know your still thinking what the f..k does this *** know.
Well first like I said earlier in not just some young teen, I am in my 50s and over 38 years of that I have been a auto teck. At the present time my daily job is building street rods and race cars. I have a shop thats like 40x 70 and thats all I do is build from the ground up. Now don't think that, I am some old guy that hates speed Well I love it,more then, well almost everything. But besides all that. I know yours still wondering what I know about V-8 bugs. Well I will tell you. I did not build a V-8 bug. I have built two of them myself.
One for a customer and one for me. His was built with a totally stock 350, its nice but hes still not happy with it. And mine was different I put some bucks and time in mine,nothing spared. Its cool. And yea it a bad *** street bug, but its not a street cruiser. Someone one can be happy with. And its not just because of the motor. I know if it was stock,I would not rely on it. All I wanta say is if your thinking of building even a stock V-8 bug like I did for the customer. Stop now and give it a hard though. If I build another H.P bug, I will build something different. Like a Rotary,Porsche,Mazda etc. power bug. There cool, You could even throw on a turbo. It will be bad, I have seen a few. And you will be more happy. Yea ! at first its neat, being able to say. Hell man,I got a bad *** V-8 bug. But its really not neat or cool. Well I guess I said enough,but before I know some of you are thinking,what my bug is like. Well I will tell you. Yea its one Bad *** bug,or at least whats left of it, It still looks like a 50s bug,but thats all. Only thing that is still from the bug, is the main shell. Even the f & r fenders,the hood the trunk are all glass. Yep its light as hell. The frame is a custom built tube frame, 9 inch narrowed 411 posi rear, pro built 350 turbo, Now here is why its bad ***. Its a modified 383 sbc engine,with the best of everything, then to top it off . I am running a
8-71 blower with 2 850 holleys. It looks tuff,because it is. You can ask my neighbor. Hes seen it along with others when the 10 inch slicks hooked up, jumped across the street and tore down 30 ft. of his chain link fence and tore off the bugs right front fender hitting a telephone pole. Yep ! one hell of a ride. Its got the power and traction. But now that I built it,the fun is over. And with a little time and work maybe 2 weeks of spare time,it will be up and running again. Its a fun car, but not one your want to have fun cruising in. Even like the bug I built with a totally stock sbc engine, Its not a car you can cruise in on even Sat night , with out wondering if something is going to happen. Your guys want speed and a nice cruiser build something besides a V-8 bug. Ever one I have talked to with V-8 bugs at bug meets and the drags are not happy with them. And like the old saying " Speed cost,how fast do you wanta go ! Well hope I did not get anyone mad. But you got my two cents. Its up to you what you do with it. Me been there and done that twice. But not know more. Even if one of my customers ask me to build one. I try and talk him in to, something else. Or tell him let someone else build it. Because in my heart, I know he will never be happy with a V-8 bug. Its a lot better now,to think things out,then after you spend your hard earned money in something, thats not fun. Got money in the engine,put it in a diffrent car that will be a dependable fun street car. Or sell it. A bug with a turbo mazda in it,is hot. And if you figure you need more ,there is aways nitrous. LOL Jump into a turbo mazda or Jap car your see. They are hot street cars and your bug will be too.
Have a great day !!

Did it ever occur to you that if we all built the same thing, this world would suck even more?

Some have more money than sense- sure... But a hobby is a hobby.

Sounds like all you wanted to do is brag.

Thats a little harsh... but i agree,why should a car be difficult to drive just because it's shaped like a VW?
I don't see T buckets running into fences or poles and there is a lot less car in a bucket than this beetle.
I think his using the C10 chassis is a bit of overkill ,it's going to be a bit heavy and the handling won't be as sharp as the mid engined ones in the link I posted before but there is no reason what so ever for it to be hard to drive. In fact the more I think about it,if a car is difficult you have f%^98cked up and haven't built the car properly.

I got a little confused reading the post. You don't recommend building a V8 bug but love yours? A lot of the people I've spoke to (forums) love theirs. Sure a project like this has it's issues, but when it all comes down to it the end product is a chevy with a bug body. I would think if it was built right it'll hold up and be pretty reliable. I'm still at a loss at to how you ran yours into a light pole. Sounds like all that horse power in a small car needs to be kept at the track.

I agree with mercmad63. IMO, most people build their V8 bugs with racing in mind and not a daily cruiser and when you build a project like this more then likely your going to have to tweak this and that. Fix this and that. It's an on going project for years. That's part of the attraction for me. Keeps me busy and it's all about the journey and not the end result, although the end result puts a smile on my face. That and the fact it's different, although done before, and it's cool in it's own way. Lot's of people do the rotary engine conversion or porsche conversion. I didn't want to jump on that boat and I wanted good ol american V8 power that's fairly inexpensive, many parts for, and reliable.

It was a hundred today and man was it hot! Still managed to get some work done. Ordered some push rods and some Dupli-color paint. 500º flat black for the valve covers and oil pan. 500º Glossy black for the block. 1200º color aluminum ceramic paint for the headers.

Painted the used valve covers I bought.

Painted the bare oil pan I ordered.

Friday at work I spent an hour on each header sand blasting the paint off. Today I painted them. Did 3 coats with one can and there's still about 1/4 a can. I put down some paint too. Now I got to figure what oven I'm going to use to bake the paint. ??? Does the paint release harmful vapors? Maybe I'll do it here at home.

OK, so I've been talking about this freebie 283 from my old man for almost a year now without pics. Well, here's some finally. Today me and my bro went and picked the motor and stand up, got her in the garage and cleaned the engine up as much as we can. Still got some more cleaning to do before I paint it and start putting it together. The internals look good and clean. There's a little carbon build up but not a whole lot. I did find out there's no lifters in the block so I've got to get some

Here's some pics of the pop up pistons. . Also I found the number on the bottom of the pistons. 334-99. I searched the net and found someone who has the same pistons and his are for a 283 bored over .060. Would that be the same for mine? If so I've got me a 292 on my hands!

Well, that's all I've got for now. More to come. Anyone with suggestions about cleaning this thing up without taking it apart is much appreciated. And advice on sealing it up good (using silicon or sealer, what brands, etc) will be much appreciated being this my first time doing this.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.